Following the accusations of racism against the Vooruit leader Conner Rousseau in September, the East Flanders Public Prosecutor's Office has now launched the "mediation measures" procedure.
The authorities have completed their investigation into the statements made and decided to launch a mediation procedure – a voluntary procedure that can be proposed for offences carrying a prison sentence of up to two years on the condition that the accused acknowledges his "civil liability" and actively cooperates.
"I will continue the mediation with the Roma community, which I have already started," the leader of the Flemish socialist party told Belga News Agency. "I will also have to visit the Dossin barracks and attend sessions with a therapist on the impact of words and language use. A justice assistant will supervise the correct implementation of these measures for a year."
The incident occurred on the night of 1 to 2 September during the Vredefeesten in Rousseau's hometown, Sint-Niklaas. According to the politician, he had been heavily drinking that night and had a conversation with several police officers, which he described as jokingly and friendly.
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However, the police drew up an official report. Flemish news media Het Laatste Nieuws and VTM NEWS had an article ready to be published with more details from the investigation, but Rousseau went to court to put a stop to its publication.
On 5 October, Rousseau was questioned by the authorities for a long time, and that same evening, he gave a press conference where he apologised to the Roma community for his statements.
Then, he also said that he would not consider it logical should he be prosecuted for the statements. "There needs to be an intentional aspect. You have to want to hurt someone. That is out of the question in this case. Those who know my past history, my volunteer work and my views know that."
